NTS is pleased to announce the receipt of an historic ruling from its accrediting agency, the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).

The letter from the ATS Commission on Accrediting stated in part:

After reviewing the information (on the Multi-Campus Seminary) in light of the pertinent Commission’s standards and procedures, the Commission voted:

To approve the following extension sites to offer the complete Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree :

• Mount Vernon Nazarene University

• Southern Nazarene University

• Trevecca Nazarene University

“We have been anticipating receiving full approval of our multi-campus sites since we began offering courses at SNU and MVNU 2 years ago,” shared NTS President Dr. David Busic. “However, this validation from ATS is still very significant in that it means that students who take courses at any of these three multi-campus sites will be able to complete their Master of Divinity degree without ever having to travel to Kansas City to take a course.”

ATS requires that 1/3 of the required courses for the MDiv be taken in residence at NTS; prior to the ATS’ official ruling this week, NTS students could only receive residential credit at the Seminary’s main campus in Kansas City. However, now the entire degree for the MDiv may be taken at MVNU, SNU, or TNU through a combination of on-campus and online courses. Approval of Eastern Nazarene College is pending; NTS anticipates that courses will begin being offered there in 2013.

This is the first time that ATS has granted residential credit to a location where an institution does not have its own staff, faculty, administration, library and/or other important academic resources. The ruling validates the unique relationship that NTS has with the 8 regional undergraduate colleges and universities across North America.

At the NTS multi-campus sites, two intensive module courses are offered each semester on each extension campus. One is taught by an NTS faculty member, the other taught by an NTS adjunct faculty member from the host campus. These courses include several weeks of pre-course work, 1 week of intensive classroom time, and several more weeks of post-course work.